About bloody time. The horrid excuse for a bus finally reached my destination. The 30 minutes it took to get to the resort really only should have taken 15 minutes. It was like the bus only has two different speeds; slow and slower. The bus driver, Kahuna, is cool though – I don't have anything against him, just his stupid bus. Which, incidentally, is shaped like a whale.
Summer is finally here. And, lucky me, I bagged myself a job at a hotel right next to the water. I can surf whenever I want. I was so excited about this job, my first job, I had been packed for weeks just waiting for summer to arrive. And now that I was here, I couldn't wait to get started.
I had wanted a job for so long, so I didn't have to ask dad for money every time I needed something. That, of course didn't stop him from transferring more money onto my bank card before I left. I wanted the independence to do this myself, to prove I wasn't just a rich girl whose daddy gave her anything she wanted. But he was making that increasingly difficult.
This job was perfect for me, namely, because it was right next to the beach. Surfing was a passion of my life, something I was good at, something I did well, like all passions. And having the beach situated right next to the resort I would be working at was amazing, to say the least.
"Here you go little lady," Kahuna said, pulling me out of my reverie of carvin' it up on the waves and having what could absolutely be the best summer of my life.
Grabbing my bags and board, I made a beeline for the bus door. "Thanks," I smile at Kahuna.
"Anytime you need a lift to the town you just let me know."
"Thanks," I said again, getting off the whale bus and heading towards the beach first. I still had time before I needed to be anywhere. I breathed in the refreshing salty breeze and let the sound off waves crashing fill my ears. The taste of salt fills my mouth and I feel so completely relaxed, so at home. I glance at my watch briefly – 11:20. I had just enough time grab a quick sesh before signing in for work.
I took of my shoes and walked further down the beach, feeling the warmth of the sand beneath my feet. I dumped my bags and took of my purple hoodie shirt and jean shorts to reveal the purple bikini I almost always wore. Grabbing my purple (noticing a theme here?) surfboard with a white amaryllis on it, I ran out into the water, the cool water a stark contrast to the warm sand. The water gave me strength and I felt invigorated. I dished out my some of my best tricks and felt free. Surfing always made me feel free.
All too soon I had to get out of the water though and the absence of the water against my skin was depressing. I grabbed a towel out of my shoulder bag and quickly tried off before throwing my clothes back on. I checked my phone and saw I had one message;
Darling,
Have a good time.
If you need anything, give me a call.
Love Dad.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my Ipod, shoving the buds into my ears. Bon Jovi's No Apologies sounded through. I threw my towel over my shoulder and grabbed my bags and board, walking towards the resort. As I came closer, I noticed that the resort was a mess. I thought it was a five star resort. It was absolutely trashed! I walked through the automatic doors and ran smack bang into a bare chest of lean muscle.
"Oof," I gasped, stumbling back.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," A boy reached out a steadying hand. I looked up and I would never admit it, but I melted. He was tanned, tall, well-formed and charmingly handsome. His eyes were a clear blue that instantly reminded me of the ocean; so clear and sparkling. As cliché as it was, I could drown in those eyes. He smiled and my eyes shifted to his mouth. Oh, good God, his unfairly perfect mouth. And he even had an amazing smile. Bloody hell! I was in love.
"Uh, no, that's okay. It was my fault, I wasn't paying attention," I said, pulling my earphones out.
"So, we're both to blame?" His voice was deep and smooth, not a hint of the squeaky awkwardness that signified a recent change in his voice.
"I guess so," I said, smiling.
He looked down at my surfboard and smiled. "You surf?"
"Whenever I can, which isn't enough as far as I'm concerned. But that's going to change with this job."
He nodded in recognition. "Are you a part of the new summer staff?" he asked good naturedly.
"Uh, yeah, I am," I glanced at my watch. Oh shit. "And I was supposed to sign in exactly one minute and twenty-three seconds ago."
"Sorry to hold you up."
"No, it's not your fault." He stepped to the side to let me pass. "Thanks," I flashed a grin at him.
"No problem. Oh, hey, I'm Ty, by the way."
"And I'm late, so I'll see'ya around Ty," I grinned mischievously at him. I walked quickly to the front desk, stopping behind a girl with straight brown hair and a pink t-shirt and a guy with brown hair and a black shirt. They were both carrying a bag, but the guy was also carrying a surfboard as well. I had just enough time to grimace at the tackiness of the hotel before the guy behind the front desk started speaking.
"Welcome to Surfer's Paradise. We are surfing." He said, his tone conveyed how much he really didn't want to say that.
I raised my eyebrow at him, "We are surfing?" I asked him slowly, my incredulousness so obvious to my own ears.
"Yeah, we are surfing, I have to say that." He said in distaste.
"Wow," I sympathized.
"We're the new summer staff," the girl said.
I nodded and stepped closer to the girl, "Yeah, that includes me too."
"I'm emma," the girl said just as another girl walked up. She had short bleach-blonde hair and was wearing a green tank top.
"Hey, I'm Fin and that's reef."
"And, I'm Nereida-Lynn, but you can just call me Nereida."
Emma turned to me, "Nereida? That's a cool name."
"Yeah, Nereida, as in the sea nymph," I explained.
(A/N it's pronounced ne-RAY-duh)
"Oh, cool," she said.
"Wait, wait, wait. Nereida-Lynn, as in Nereida-Lynn Chase? The Nereida-Lynn Chase that was ranked #2 in the world," Fin asked suddenly.
I bit my lip in embarrassment. "Yep, that would be me."
"Holy Moly, that 360 aerial you landed was totally bad-ass!" She exclaimed.
I smiled at her, "Thanks."
"No problem." We turned back to see that the front desk guy was talking again.
"…I'm Johnny, I work the front desk, concierge, so what do you think?" he asked.
"Umm, well, it's a little different than I thought it would be," Emma said, politely saying that it sucks. It's like a nightmare.
"Yea, it stinks, it's all fake," Fin said harshly.
"Really fake," I said, staring at one of the hideous purple whales.
"Ohhhh, you must have seen last year's brochure, yeah, last fall corporate decided to make all the hotel's 'theme' hotels," Johnny said. "And voila! Every true surfer's worst nightmare." Suddenly, his attention shifted to something else. "Dude, what did I tell you about taking sink showers in the Lobby bathroom?"
I turned to see another guy walking towards us, dripping wet. He shook his afro and water went everywhere.
"Uhhh, don't?"
"Right, so what are you doing here anyway?" Johnny asked.
"Uhh, I'm the new bellhop man," he said.
"Jump back, you're working here now?" Johnny asked in disbelief. "What happened to the Surf Shack?"
"Needed a change of scenery," he said, jumping back and relaxing onto the chair. "Sick party last night."
"Who threw this shindig man?" Reef asked.
"The owner's daughter, Lo," Johnny rolled his eyes.
"If her dad finds out, it's tickets dude." The guy added.
A man walked over, a phone pressed to his ear. He was wearing what looked like the staff shirt. "Right, yes, golf carts need repainting, chairs repaired and the pool needs cleaning. Absolutely no problem," He said, hanging up the phone. He threw his hands up in the air, "If I had a week," he shouted angrily.
Johnny coughed, "Uh, Sir, this is Mr and Mrs Marvin."
The man automatically shifted back into manager mode, "What a charming family," He laughed. "I understand the party last night may have been a little loud, why don't I take 20% off your total bill?"
"Make it thirty," the father said.
"Done, and just to show you how much we value your patronage, I'm going to throw in free surf lessons for the whole family."
"You hear that kids," the man turned to his children. "Who want's to go surfing?"
"We hate surfing," one of the boys said.
"We want souvenirs," the other said. Spoilt brats.
"You are a lucky man, Mr Marvin. Please, enjoy the hotel."
"What a bunch of kooks," Fin said and I nodded agreement.
"What's a kook?" Emma asked.
"Like a tourist, or a wannabe," I explained.
"Welcome," The man walked over to us. "Hi, just checking in I see, excellent. I'm Andrew Baumer, day manager at the hotel. If there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable, you just let me know. A little sparkling water perhaps?" He asked.
"A cold can of pop would be pretty sweet right about now, thanks man," Reef said.
Johnny coughed again to get his attention, "Uh, Sir, they're not guests."
"We're the new summer staff," Fin said.
"Waaasss up?" the guy on the lounge chair said.
"Then why are you standing in the Lobby? Why are they standing in the Lobby?" He asked Johnny. He pointed to the guy on the chair, "And you, get off the couch, we just had those cleaned."
The guy who now had a sandwich in his hand, shoved it back into his hair. "Cool, bro, it's cool."
"We just got here. I'm Emma," Emma explained.
"Yeah, yeah, no time for introductions. Now follow me, you too, I need all the help I can get." He said to Johnny and he started to walk off.
"Yes, sir," Johnny said. Bummer, as I nicknamed him, led us down a corridor and opened a door where a girl was leaning against it.
"You can leave your bags here," he said. He walked to the girl and grabbed the mop that was leaning against the wall next to her. "You got time to lean, you got time to clean, come on!" The girl ignored him and the mop dropped to the floor as he stalked past her.
"Maybe we're getting a tour," Emma said excitedly.
"Sick parties, awesome surfing, I love this place." Reef yelled. We dumped our bags and took off after Bummer who led us outside to the pool and told us to start cleaning it.
About two minutes in, Reef was severely disappointed. "Okay, not loving it so much anymore," he said.
"Dude this bites," said the other guy, who's name I quickly found out to be Broseph.
"Pssh, that's resort life for ya," Johnny stated.
"What'da'ya mean?" Fin asked.
"Well, usually we get the afternoon off to surf, but then some kid had a diaper malfunction in the pool and Bam! We're on scrubbing duty."
Bummer returned then, calling for attention. "Okay, people, listen up. Do I need to remind you what will happen if Mr. Ridgemount returns and sees this? My career, finished, which means all of you will be fired. Comprende vou?" He asked. We just nodded. "Okay, kids here's a list of things we need done by this afternoon, tick tock people," he said, ripping off a piece of paper and letting it flutter towards us. Johnny tried and failed to catch it.
"Do you know how to get ketchup out of carpeting?" a girls voice called from a balcony.
Bummer's shoulder slumped, "I hate my life."
Emma turned to us, "So where are you guys working? I'm in the dining room."
I nodded at her, "Me too."
"DR, nice, decent tip potential," Johnny said.
"You are looking at the head of water sports and surf instruction," Reef said, pointing to himself.
"What!" Fin exclaimed, "That's my job."
"Uh, is your name Reef?"
"No."
"Then it's not your job. I got this in the mail last week," he said, unfolding a letter which Fin promptly snatched out of his hands.
"Okay, there has to be some kind of mistake, they said it was practically guaranteed!"
She passed the letter to Johnny, who looked at it, "Looks legit, they do this all the time, move staff around, you'll get used to it."
"That is so unfair! What am I supposed to do?"
"Well, let me check," he pulled out a walkie talkie. "Hey boss, just checking in on an employee posting for Fin McCloud." We waited a moment until a voice came back over the communication device.
"Yeah, hold on, Fin McCloud, yeah, that's housekeeping."
"A maid!" she yelled. "Oh no, uh-uh, okay, I don't even clean my own room."
"Wait, maybe it won't be that bad," Emma said.
"Cheer up," Reef called. "I'll even give you free surf lessons."
"Do you know who I am?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah, you're the new maid." He said like it was obvious.
"I'm the three time junior international champion. I'm ranked number 56 in the world."
"Yeah, in the girls category."
"Oh no he didn't!" Johnny said.
How dare he! How dare he! Who the bloody hell does he think he is. Gasps were emitted.
"What did you just say?" I said in a deadly tone.
"Well, I won't be surfing the girls category at Grom fest this year, so if you're man enough to enter, then I'll be happy to show you just how much butt a girl can kick." Fin yelled.
"Bring it on, Betty," Reef said.
"Oh, I will, and don't call me a betty, you kook."
"Okay, okay, I think we're done here," Johnny said, trying to diffuse the tension. "Come on, we have new deck chairs to put together."
"What happened to the old ones?" Emma asked.
"They had a huge bon fire on the beach last night and ran out of fire wood."
"Those were some tasty weenies," Broseph recalled.
"Darn it! Why couldn't we arrive yesterday? I love weenies," Reef whined.
Fin just rolled her eyes, "Ugh! Such a kook!" I laughed and just followed behind, glaring at Reef.
And, i'll cut it off just there.
Thanks for reading!
What did you think?